Device for impregnating wood.



.PATENTED DEC. 29. 1903.

W. ANGUS. I DEVICE FOR IMPREGNATING WOOD.

APPLIGATION FILED FEB. 12, 1903.

0 MODEL.

NITED. STATES Patented December 29, 1 903.

PATENT ()FFICE.

DEVICE FOR I MPREGNATING, WOOD.

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent No. 748,033, dated December29, 1903.

Application filed February 12, 1903. Serial No. 143.068. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that 1, WILLIAM ANGUS, gentleman, a subject of the King ofEngland, residing at i l-Paul street, London,'England, have inventedcertain new and useful Improvements in Means for ImpregnatingWood, (forwhich I have applied for a patent in Austria on the 12th of July, 1902,and which application is made by my attorney on my behalf, and inHungary on the 15th of July, 1902, similarly made, and obtained BritishLetters Patent No. 17,012, dated August 1, 1902,) of which the followingis a specification.

Many attempts have ere now been made to impregnate wood with dyes,coloring-matters, or preservatives by forcing the liquid with which thewood is to be impregnated or which forms the vehicle for theimpregnating material into the pores of the wood by pressure,

generally hydraulic pressure. Attempts have ere now been made to effectthis by forming a connection between a force-pump and the end of a balkor block of timber (a whole tree or a portion of a tree) and driving theimpregnating liquid along the fiber of the wood into the cells and porestherein.

This invention relates to improved means for effecting this.

It is illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings, in which- Figure 1 showsso much of the apparatus employed and of a tree-trunk as they appearduring the process of impregnation as is necessary for rendering clearthe nature of this invention. Fig. 1 similarly shows a m0dification.Figs. 2, 2, and 3 show a slab, disk, or cutting taken off the trunk andprepared as and for the purpose hereinafter referred to. Fig. 4 shows amodified manner of proceeding.

In practicing this invention I take the treetrunk or the balk or log oftimber to be impregnated and cut therefrom a slab or disk of suitablethickness, making the cut at right angles (or nearly so) to the grain.The freshly-cut surface of this slab I now coat or cover with animpermeable substance capable of preventing the flow of the impregnat-'ing liquid. If aqueous solutions of pigments are to be employed, I maybrush over this freshly-cut surface india-rubber solution,

shellac, melted paraffin-wax, or the like. If preservatives are to beforced into the woodsuch as creosote and the like, for instance thesubstance used for coating the fresh-cut surface must be such as willnot be attacked by the liquid. Instead of brushing on the impermeablesubstance I may cement to the freshly-cut surface a thin sheet ofsuitable nature-say, paraffiued paper, sheet guttapercha, thin sheetindia-rubber, or the likeor place and retain it there by pressureapplied, as will presently appear. When the slab, disk, or cutting isthus prepared, I perforate it to permit the passage of the impregnatingliquid at the required parts. Thus if I wish to make the logparty-colored I cut the slab as shown in Fig. 2--that is to say, fromthe solid part a. I remove portions (1 d, which unite atc. If the wholeis to be uniformly impregnated, I cut out the central part, as shown inFig. 3, in which a mere shell or ring is left. The slab, disk, orcutting so prepared will, itis obvious, exactly fit the outline ofthetrunk, balk, or log from which it is taken, the more so as the very thinlayer of impermeable substance on the fresh-cut face will generally justmake up for the minute waste (in the direction of the grain) caused bythe saw-cut. I now place the disk or slab upon the face of the log ortrunk from which it was cut, fitting it with some care to occupy thesame place it did before cutting. I may temporarily fix it in positionby any means-say a couple of thin Wire nails. Over the original face ofthe log or trunkthat is to say, over the replaced slab-I now place asolid metal plate faced on the side nearest the wood with india-rubberor other impermeable material. In the middle of the plate (or otherwiseconveniently placed) is a passage communicating with the centralaperture 0 in the slab and with a force-pump, and I press this plateagainst the log with sufficient force to make tight joints. All this isclearly illustrated in Fig. 1, wherein a is the slab, disk, or cutting.(Shown in plan in Fig. 2, but here in section.) b is the coating orfacing ofimpermeable material, here shown for clearness of illustrationas being of some thickness, though in practice I make it a mere film orvery thin sheet. 0 is the central passage in the slab communicating withthe recesses cl (1, cut as shown in Fig. 2 or otherwise. f is the metalplate, which by bolts 9 g and nuts h h or by chains or other means isforced down upon the face of the slab a. 11 is theimpermeable facing ofthe plate f. j is a pipe which communicates with a force-pump or areservoir containing the impregnating liquid, the latter being underpressure. It will be self-evident that if the pressure on the plate fissufficient to make tight joint at both sides of slabs and the liquidsupplied by pipej is also under suitable pressure it will be driven intothe log, balk, or trunk A along the grain.

of the wood. When the slab a is cut out, as shown in Fig. 2, those partsof the log which are covered by the solid parts 6 e of the slab are notaffected by the impregnation. In coloring wood it may, however, bedesirable to give one color to some parts-say those corresponding to dd, Fig. 2and another to the others, and not to leave them in theirnatural state. This I effect by turning the slab and refixing it if theshape of the trunk is sufficiently symmetrical to admit of this. If not,I fix into their original place the pieces cutout from the parts d d andthen cut out other portionssay the whole or part of e eand then proceedas before described, varying theimpregnating liquid of course.

As illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2*, I may use the following meansforcoloring differentparts ofthe log or trunk differently: From the slab aI cut out parts 01 d and parts d 01, so that there is no communicationbetween the spaces so formed. The plate f in this case has severalapertures and nozzlessay four-as shown in Fig. 1 In this arrangement Iprovide one pipe j to convey liquid to the nozzles serving the spaces atd d and another pipe j supplying the nozzles for spaces at d d. Thisarrangement may be varied in details, as will be obvious. Thus eachnozzle may have a separate supply and convey a different'impregnatingliquid. In order to prevent irregularity in the outline of the coloring'as far as practicable,I may coat the perpendicular faces k is in thecutout portions of the slab in the same manner as the inner face of suchslab is made impermeable.

The shape and nature of the removable pieces herein referred to isevident from inspection of Fig. 2 The parts in that figure in which thegrain of the wood is indicated are thoseof the slab, disk, or cutting.The parts inclosed by the same show the removable pieces, the outline ofthe latter corresponding with the inner contour of the recesses orapertures left in the said slab, cutting, or disk.

In Fig. 4 I have illustrated a further modification. In this I make asmall aperture only in the slab a. In the log, balk, or trunk A, I cutone or more shallow grooves ll, of any suitable form, which lead fromunder the aperture in the slab to the other parts of the log or trunk.Such channels will convey the impregnating liquid with less interferencewith and weakening of the slab a, and will be quite effective.

I claim- I 1. The combination with devices for injecting liquid into apiece of timber and means for holding together said devices and thepiece of timber, of a slab cut from such trunk or piece, and ofremovable parts placed in posiof removable pieces coated withimpermeable material and placed within the slab.

3. In combination with means for injecting liquid into a piece oftimber, devices for holding together the timber and injecting means, andwith a slab cut from said timber of removable pieces and of a sheet orfilm of impermeable material interposed between the timber on the onehand and the slab and removable pieces on the other.

4. A slab interposed between a piece of timber and a source of liquidunder pressure, combined with pieces cut from and replaced into suchslab, the slab and replaced pieces having their faces made impermeableto the liquid or pigment.

' 5. The combination of a piece of timber, a metal plate fitted withpipes and covered, on the side adjacent to the timber, with a film ofindia-rubber, a slab cut from the piece of timber, removable piecesfitting into apertures in said slab, and an impermeable film interposedbetween said piece of timber on the one hand and the slab and removablepieces on the other, together with a forcepump and means for connectingthe Whole of these parts.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in the presence of twowitnesses. WILLIAM ANGUS. Witnesses:

BERNHARD JONES, T. J. OSMAN.

